Essential travel checklist
The anticipation of going on holiday is a great feeling but sometimes in all the excitement you can forget the basic things. There's the simple stuff - toothbrushes, mobile phone charger etc. But there are key things you'd do best to remember - whilst most stuff will be replaceable at your end destination not everything may be as easy to replace via a trip to the supermarket. Here's a brief rundown of what not to forget:
- Travel insurance. A budget holiday isn’t so budget if things go wrong and you’re not covered – Go Travel Insurance offer cheap travel insurance from only £3.95 for a single trip. Although this is an extra expense at the outset it protects you against any mishaps.
- Travel documentation. Passports, visas, tickets - without these things, the chances are that you're not going anywhere, so it's very important to keep them safe. Get a passport holder where you can also keep tickets and visas. For other forms of documentation such as your travel insurance policy, safeguard against forgetting it by taking a photocopy. In fact it's prudent to make photocopies of any important documentation; whilst it may not always be able to replace the original, it can be handy to have the information at hand.
- Medication. Whether it's medication you take regularly or specific to your destination of choice, it can be quite easy to leave pills behind, but the consequences can be devastating. Again, when packing have a checklist to hand of essential objects - make sure medication is on there, and make sure to pack it! In addition, don't forget to research your destination and learn whether you need any vaccinations. This is particularly relevant if you're going to the tropics - while getting those injections may be an added expense, they may save your life!
- Important numbers. It's always good to carry a list of important contact telephone numbers - next of kin, insurance company, your bank - you never know when you might need to get in touch with any of these. Have them written down, don't just rely on having them stored in your mobile phone.
- Tell your bank you're going away. Banks do monitor patterns of spending and if they suddenly see payments being made on your card from a far flung country, they may deactivate the card on the suspicion that a fraud is being committed. Whilst their security practices are often commendable, having your card stopped whilst on holiday can at best be highly inconveniencing and at worst be positively dangerous if you've got no other source of cash. Tell the bank where and when you're going, and hopefully, this won't happen.